Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England. Nearby places include Portsmouth to the south-west, Southampton to the west, Waterlooville to north, Chichester to the east and Hayling Island to the south. The wider borough comprises the town (45,826), the resort of Hayling Island, the town of Waterlooville, and the town of Emsworth.

Housing and population more than doubled in the 20 years following World War II, a period of major conversion of land from agriculture and woodland to housing across the region following the incendiary bombing of Portsmouth and the Blitz.

The old centre of the town was a small Celtic settlement before Roman times and the town's commerce, retired and commuter population swelled after World War II so as to be usually considered economically part of the Portsmouth conurbation.

History

thumb|The Old House at Home. The raised grass to the right is part of St Faith's Church grounds, in the middle of town.

Archeological digs in the 19th and 20th centuries uncovered evidence of Roman buildings – near St Faith's Church and in Langstone Avenue, along with Neolithic and Mesolithic remains.

In 1086 (at the time of the Domesday Book), Havant was a village with a population of around 100. In 1200, the monks of Winchester Cathedral were granted the right to hold a market at Haveunte.

For much of its history water played a vital part in local commerce, with many water mills, and parchment manufacture and brewing.

Early English in style, the oldest undisturbed parts of the church of St Faith, such as the chancel, date from the early 13th century. Some of the foundations are believed to date from Roman times. The vestry is 14th century and there is a monumental brass to William Aylward, 1413.

By 1768 Havant had its first postmaster trading from various offices until the present post office in East Street opened in 1936 (one of a handful in the UK with the cypher of King Edward VIII above the entrance). In 1976 a Royal Mail Christmas postage stamp depicted an angel design from a medieval embroidery in the Victoria and Albert Museum owned by the Victorian-established Catholic Mission in the Brockhampton neighbourhood.

In 1847 Havant was connected with a station on the railway to Portsmouth and Brighton via Chichester and this was followed by the Portsmouth Direct Line to London in 1859. The branch line to Hayling Island ran from 1867 until the mid-1960s rationalisation.

The first hospital in the town opened in 1894 in Potash Terrace as a fever hospital, closing in 1939. A war memorial hospital opened in 1929 in Crossway; in 1935 a fine frieze of Wedgwood tiles depicting nursery rhymes was added to the children's ward. The rate of population increase has decreased since 1961 but population approximately doubled in the 50 years to 2011, with less cultivated land and fewer housing schemes and little non-hillside or direct coastal land available for development.

Under upcoming local government reform plans the district will be merged with nearby districts including Portsmouth to form a new South East Hampshire unitary authority in 2028.

Geography

The old centre of the town is on a classic crossroad configuration, with the four streets being named North Street, East Street, South Street and West Street, and St Faith's Church at the crossing. One axis is a known Roman road and a few artefacts along the route point to the other also being so.

The major A27 road with various crossings sections off the coastal village suburbs of Langstone and the south of Bedhampton. Its north is Leigh Park, a three-ward suburb originally of council housing laid out before 1960 through the co-operation of the local and Portsmouth authorities (the other designated area being Paulsgrove occupying west Cosham), beyond which is Staunton Country Park in the South Downs National Park. To the east is Emsworth, another town which is contiguous with Havant. To the west is Portsdown Hill and part of Bedhampton. The A3(M) passes to the west.

There are several natural springs in the area, including one a short distance south-west of the church on West Street at the end of Homewell. This used to be the home of the premier parchment making facility in Southern England (closing in 1936) which later became a glove making factory and leather processing plant. The Treaty of Versailles was written on Havant parchment.

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Demography

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|+ 2011 Published Statistics: Population, home ownership and extracts from Physical Environment, surveyed in 2005 Havant is home to the local community radio station, Angel Radio<!--Angel Radio (Havant) was Speedy Deleted but subsequently redirected to here by WP:CONSENSUS. --> which specialises in music of the pre-1960s era.

Transport

The multi-bay Havant town bus station is located adjacent the Meridian Shopping Centre and 0.3&nbsp;km south—west of the railway station. The primary operator is Stagecoach South with services to Portsmouth, Hayling Island, Leigh Park, Waterlooville, Petersfield, Emsworth, and Chichester. The council-run 27 route is also provided by Stagecoach South covering Emsworth, Leigh Park, and Rowlands Castle.

The railway station is on north street with the current buildings dating from 1938. It is served by direct and frequent trains to Guildford, London Waterloo, Chichester, Gatwick Airport, London Victoria, Worthing, Brighton, Portsmouth & Southsea, Portsmouth Harbour, Fareham and Southampton Central.

In 2017 Havant College and South Downs College merged to form Havant and South Downs College.

Sport

thumb|220px|right|[[Havant Cricket Club in action at Havant Park]]

The town's senior non-league football side is Havant & Waterlooville F.C., On 16 January 2008 they reached the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history, beating Swansea City 4–2 in a third-round replay, setting up a 4th round match against Liverpool at Anfield, which they went on to lose 5–2 despite having led twice in the first half.

The town is represented by Havant RFC (founded 1951) for rugby and Havant HC (founded 1905) are three times winners of the English Hockey League. The latter contributed several players to the British Olympic gold medal-winning side of 1988. Havant Hockey Club also contributed two players to the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. The astroturf was provided by the National Lottery Fund. The town has a successful amateur cricket club (founded 1876), which has attracted a number of first-class cricketers. Havant Cricket Club have won the Southern Premier Cricket League in 2000, 2002, 2007, 2008 and 2009. In 2005 Havant Cricket Club reached the semi-finals of the Cockspur Cup.

Havant is also home to a rifle and pistol club which was the training venue for a member named Malcolm Cooper who won Olympic Gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Games and the 1988 Seoul Games.

The Avenue (Tennis) Club, Havant has ten lawn tennis championship (LTC)-standard grass courts.

Places of worship

thumb|[[St Faith's Church, Havant|St Faith's Church]]

thumb|United Reformed Church in Havant

The town's Church of England church is St. Faith's, parts of which date back to the 12th century.

See also

  • Havant War Memorial Hospital

References

  • Havant council's website